For most of my life, my mom was a single mother to three children. I remember the late nights she used to work and how my sister would have to help me with my homework and we would all have to help with the chores around the house. I saw how she struggled and fought to put food on the table.

For all the struggles, I never remember needing for anything, sure there was plenty I wanted but not needing anything.

After finishing my first legislative session as majority floor leader, I am proud to look back at the significant accomplishments of the 2013 regular session of the general assembly. Most importantly, we successfully established a new spirit of bipartisan collaboration which allowed us to move the state forward in a meaningful fashion on substantive issues such as comprehensive public employee pension system reform, university bonding, a regulatory framework for hemp production, and added transparency for special taxing districts.

The time is now for the Kentucky General Assembly to enact legislation which would statutorily establish the Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel. The time is now for our elected officials to solidify the premise on which child advocates have been voicing their opinion – that the children of the Commonwealth deserve a law which will mandate the review of child fatalities in such a way as to ensure prevention of similar fatalities in the future.

The streets of Williamstown will once again be the site of a festival on Saturday, May 4, known throughout Kentucky as Derby Day.

Stormey Vanover, owner of Country Heart in Williamstown, leads the pod of volunteers who put all the pieces in place for a successful event. If you ever need a leader who can squeeze a festival out of spending pennies, then Stormey is the person you need to call.

In a 30-day “short session” like this year, it’s difficult for both chambers of the general assembly to fully consider all the bills that have been filed. However, over the last two weeks, the Senate has taken early action on major legislation, giving the House more time to act on those bills.

The Senate passed important bills addressing the state’s General Fund debt, economic development, healthcare, and school safety.

During January, 2013, our nation’s leaders managed to employ a temporary fix for the “fiscal cliff” facing the nation. While their action pushed the deadlines down the road a bit, there are many difficult decisions yet to be made relative to the federal budget.

On Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. church bells rang 26 times and America observed a moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting.

The entire world has been affected by this unspeakable act visited upon tiny, helpless, innocent children and their protectors.
The two burning questions in our minds and hearts are “Why?” and “What can we do to stop this from happening again?”